Experimental parameters affecting the Morris water maze performance of a mouse model of Down syndrome
Experimental parameters affecting the Morris water maze performance of a mouse model of Down syndrome
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DOI：
10.1016/j.bbr.2004.01.012
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发表时间：
2004-09
影响因子：
2.7
通讯作者：
Melissa R Stasko;Alberto C. S. Costa
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Melissa R Stasko;Alberto C. S. Costa
Ts 65 Dn小鼠是研究最多的，遗传学上最完整的唐氏综合征（DS）动物模型。这些小鼠表现出许多DS样特征，包括在不同行为任务中的表现缺陷、运动功能障碍和基底前脑中胆碱能标记物的年龄依赖性丧失。目前，唯一可靠的数据表明行为缺陷可能与小于6个月大的Ts 65 Dn小鼠的学习和记忆有关，这些数据来自使用Morris水迷宫任务的一些变化的研究。然而，在这些动物中观察到的水迷宫缺陷的具体特征仍然不清楚。这项研究是弥合这一知识差距的初步尝试。我们研究了可能影响Ts 65 Dn小鼠在水迷宫中表现的三个主要因素：（1）执行测试的顺序;（2）动物的年龄;（3）与测试相关的厌恶水平。还在另外的小鼠亚组中进行了游泳后血浆皮质酮水平和核心体温的测量。总体而言，我们发现Ts 65 Dn小鼠的行为表型比文献中先前描述的要温和。此外，与整倍体对照动物相比，Ts 65 Dn小鼠对潜在应激源的反应显著更强，更容易出现游泳诱导的体温过低。需要更多的研究来进一步梳理混杂因素对Ts 65 Dn小鼠性能的潜在影响。
The Ts65Dn mouse is the most studied and genetically the most complete animal model of Down syndrome (DS) available. These mice display many DS-like features, including performance deficits in different behavioral tasks, motor dysfunction, and age-dependent loss of cholinergic markers in the basal forebrain. At present, the only robust data demonstrating a behavioral deficit potentially associated with learning and memory in Ts65Dn mice less than 6 months old have come from studies that used some variation of the Morris water maze task. However, the specific features of the water maze deficits seen in these animals are still poorly defined. This study is an initial attempt to bridge this knowledge gap. We investigated three major factors potentially influencing the performance of Ts65Dn mice in the water maze: (1) order in which the test is executed; (2) age of the animals; and (3) levels of aversiveness associated with the test. Measurements of plasma corticosterone levels and core body temperature after swimming were also carried out in additional subsets of mice. Overall, we found that the behavioral phenotype of Ts65Dn mice was milder than previously described in the literature. Additionally, Ts65Dn mice were significantly more responsive to potential stressors and more prone to swim-induced hypothermia than euploid control animals. More studies are needed to tease out further the potential effects of confounding factors on the performance of Ts65Dn mice.